President failed, caretaker govt should be appointed: Arjuna Ranatunga on Sri Lanka crisis

In an exclusive interview to India Today, former Sri Lankan cricketing great Arjuna Ranatunga slammed the government, saying President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should own up to his failures and resign.

Former Sri Lankan minister and legendary cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should own up to his failures and step down to make way for someone who can steer the island nation out of its current economic doldrums.

“The president should resign as he has failed. A caretaker government should be appointed,” said Ranatunga in an exclusive interview to India Today.

Slamming the government for its poor handling of the country’s economy, the cricketer-turned-politician said, “They can’t run the country properly. If the government can’t handle it, they must resign. There is crisis of everything.”

Ranatunga claimed the coalition government led by the Rajapaksas “became arrogant” after securing two-thirds majority after a power struggle with the Maithripala Sirisena regime, in which he had served as minister of ports and shipping. What followed was a series of bad financial decisions which plunged the country into the current crisis, he alleged.

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“[Government] borrowed loan from everywhere. I had to resign on principal then, the project didn’t give to our expectations, and we had to give our port, airport properties to them [China],” he explained, referring to the Hambantota deep water port and airport which were built after securing massive funding from Beijing.

Ranatunga expressed concern about the mass agitation sweeping the country, demanding the ouster of the Rajapaksa clan. He said he fears the protests could turn into a bloodbath due to interference from the government.